In the previous blogs I talked about Elds the Goddess of Play, and her four subservient gods; Agon, Alea, Ilinx, and Mimicry. These were the Pyrallis from Greek mythology, and represented the universal types of play according to French philosopher Roger Caillois. This was a fantastic origin for the theme park known as Wonder Eggs. Elds, and the Pyrallis explained to the visitors of Laperot that it was a magical place. It was filled with music, food, culture, and multiple types of play. This mythology allowed the team working at Namco the creative freedom to explore unique experiences. The company had already introduced the Tower of Druaga, and Galaxian³ to audiences during the 1990 World’s Expo.
These two hybrid amusement ride / video games which they called “Hyper Entertainment” would be given a new home in Wonder Eggs. According to the company, their high-end arcade simulator games including Starblade also counted as Hyper Entertainment. They believed that these were the new form of play, where guests were no longer passive riders, but took center stage on the adventure. Their promotional material read that the attraction “invites customers to a dramatic experience as the protagonist of an unfamiliar world, in an unknown era.” They were certainly onto something. I would argue that these were missing links in the theme park industry. The interactive rides predated Disney attractions like Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters from 2004, and Toy Story Midway Mania from 2008.
Namco had decades of experience with their own play centers, arcades, and small amusement parks. Remember that they started off by building kiddie rides for rooftop play areas in the biggest chain malls all across the country. In doing so they built relationships with vendors, and suppliers. As they grew they began adding different types of play centers to their portfolio. Some were for kids, and teens. Other businesses were for young adults, and families. These included restaurants, and bars with light amusement. All of these locations were filled with video games, and redemptions machines which they had also created. Since they had established rides in every major city in Japan they knew the nuances of the individual regions. They knew how to market to the tastes of different customers. When it came time to build a theme park the real estate cards fell in their favor. They were setting up a new operation just outside of Tokyo, in an area that had previously hosted an amusement park. They wouldn’t have to spend too much time or money on the construction of a new park. Best of all customers already had a favorable view of the company. All of these things worked in favor of their ambitious plans, an urban theme park, and the first video game park.
With all the things going for them it was important to understand that a theme park was a different kind of beast compared to a traditional amusement park. It required an even more unified approach from the company. Previously there were teams that worked on individual projects for their appropriate business wings. As with most major studios in Japan (and abroad) the arcade, home console, robotics, toys, and restaurant groups worked separately from each other. The bigger the company got the more isolated employees became. Even the teams working in video game division did not know what titles their co-workers were making.
When Namco CEO Masaya Nakamura pushed for a theme park then every member of his company had to get on board. Composers, developers, programmers, animators, artists, chefs, and engineers had to be on the same page. They all needed to understand what they were building, and why. They had to address every logistical challenge that an amusement park faced. Staffing, training, construction, food service, attractions, maintenance, merchandise, advertising, and day-to-day operations all had to be sorted. They had some experience in this area, but the pressure to deliver a memorable experience grew exponentially. The studio also had to come up with a theme which connected everything together, and elevated it above an amusement park. To make things more difficult they had to put everything together in less than two years after their World’s Expo showing.
Thankfully Namco was familiar with the elements that went into the best parks. President Nakamura had met with George Lucas, and Warner Brothers to discuss media projects in the mid ‘80s. His company had worked with Universal Studios on amusement theming in the early ‘90s. Many of the senior designers had gone on record discussing their love of the Disney parks as well. Wonder Eggs had more moving parts than any other operation Namco had ever run. It required extensive planning, and every member working around the clock to hit their opening target date of February 29 1992. Thankfully Laperot existed in a fictional timeline, designers they could pull experiences from any point in history real or imagined. The little things like employee costumes which reflected their area of the park were created in short order. Namco actually had different employee uniforms in several of their play centers. Wonder Eggs outfits were more fantastic. Their fashion was unique, but not locked into any point in history. The colors, accessories, fabric, and patterns used in their costumes perfectly captured their particular area of the park, or attraction they were assigned to.
Having costumed employees working the attractions helped immerse visitors into the village of Laperot. A theme park also needed live entertainment to keep guests engaged. The company had musicians, clowns, acrobats, singers, and other performers through the years. Many had costumes that also reflected their area of the park. Namco creative developed shows, and parades which showed off the magic of Laperot. These shows evolved as the park changed as well. The celebration of the original Wonder Eggs was called “Wonder Imagination.” When attractions were refreshed, or replaced we were treated to a new theme “Love and Success” in 1995 for Wonder Eggs 2, and "Countdown of Dreams and Romance" for Wonder Eggs 3 in 1999. The thing that I hadn’t yet mentioned about Wonder Eggs was its size. Of all the theme parks in the world there were probably none smaller than Wonder Eggs. To be fair
Adventure City in Stanton was about the same size, roughly two acres. To give you a sense of scale Wonder Eggs was about as big as Main Street USA at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Having a small park allowed Namco to change direction rapidly. If an attraction wasn’t bringing in guests then they could troubleshoot it, make it better, or change it entirely in the span of a few months, to less than a year without closing that section of the park entirely. Ask any Disney “Imagineer” if these kinds of changes were possible in any of their parks. They would probably laugh because it was a preposterous question. Even if they knew what needed fixing the Disney Company couldn’t turn on a dime. It had become the literal supertanker that took miles to change course. When Walt was alive they could build attractions, and solve issues at the same time. If anything needed fixing they could get it done quickly while the concrete was literally being poured. Thirty years after Walt had passed the company had grown so massive that it took years upon years, not to mention billions of dollars in order to update, repair, or change any area of the park. They had to figure out how to get construction equipment in, and out. When they could work, if it would interrupt any adjacent attractions. It was a logistical nightmare. Attendance was important to any theme park. Downtime was unacceptable for operations, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Wonder Eggs evolved much faster than Disney in this regard.
A small park needed to maximize the time that guests visited. Theme park aficionados could insult regional locations by calling them “half-day” parks. That was to say you could experience the entire park in a few hours. The people at Namco were keenly aware of this. They needed ways to keep guests engaged during their first visit, and give them reasons to return. Seasonal events helped get repeat visits in the industry. For example the oldest ticketed Halloween event Walt Disney World was a one night affair called the “Halloween Party” on Oct. 31 1995. The first “Disney Halloween” at Tokyo Disneyland took place between mid-September through October 1997. Today one of the most popular ticketed seasonal events at Disneyland, and Walt Disney World was “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween.” This ran from August through the end of October. Visitors were allowed to visit the parks in costume, with very specific restrictions. It was a chance for guests to show off their creativity, and fandom. Tickets would sell out as soon as they became available.
The Halloween events at Wonder Eggs predated all of the Disney parks. The “Wonder Halloween Party” debuted in 1992. It ran from mid-October to the start of November. It featured a costume contest, trick or treat party, Ghost Pumpkins, and the variety show “Wonder Hallow in Carnival.” Interestingly enough the winning group of the first costume contest were dressed as Darth Vader, and a couple of Storm Troopers, their theme was “Star Wars visits Wonder Eggs.” Later on the park added “Dramatic Xmas at Wonder Eggs” which ran from December 1 - December 27. It featured concerts, shows, and performers including; The Holy Juggler, Merry Xmas for you, The Legends of Happy Twinkle, Carol Mucerto, and the Reindeer Parade. These seasonal events were becoming increasingly popular with visitors to the park. They seemed to be pouring over from a new concept that Namco had established. I would like to talk about this in the next entry. Were there any defunct parks that you visited? Please tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me
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Wonder Eggs, and Egg Empire research collected from: Wonder Eggs Guide Map, Namco Graffiti magazine, the book “All About Namco II", NOURS magazine, The Namco Museum, Namco Wiki, Ge-Yume Area 51 Shigeki Toyama Collection, mcSister magazine, first person attraction details from Yoshiki. Event details from Hole in the Socks
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